9 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (27 Oct)

2. Mox Vs. Penta Just About Delivers

Jon Moxley Penta El Zero Miedo
AEW

This was one of Jon Moxley's weaker 2022 matches in truth, but it wasn't actively bad. It was however slightly disappointing, but still good enough to warrant an 'Up'. If the signature WhatCulture review format was titled 'Ups, Downs & In-Betweens', this might have fallen under the latter category.

The match was made, presumably, as a result of the hype generated by Penta El Zero Miedo's recent blood-soaked exploits in AAA. It was hardly made after a patiently booked winning streak allowing Penta to contend for the belt. The Championship Eliminator gimmick should have been used here.

The visual of Penta holding up Villano IV's mask was both instantly iconic and promised a similar, claret-drenched Mox signature here. It didn't happen; instead, Mox and Penta worked a solid match highlighted by an inventive DDT spot on the steel stairs, which looked ugly in the best possible way, and a 2.99 Mox kick-out of which Kurt Angle and Kazuchika Okada would be jealous. It was thought for a brief moment that Penta had won the AEW World title. That is some accomplishment, even if the match on the whole was not.

Elsewhere, this bordered on tepid, which is bizarre given how fantastic both men are at the ultra-heated brawl.

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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!